Over the last few years, a major focus of SCCF’s Wildlife & Habitat Management team has been assessing how both fauna and flora were impacted by Hurricanes Ian, Helene, and Milton, and the three storm surge events that washed over the entire island.

“We have been re-documenting species that were present pre-Ian and monitoring how habitats and species richness and abundance have changed,” said Wildlife & Habitat Management Director Chris Lechowicz.

One noteworthy change to the island has been the change in rabbit abundance, namely the marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris).

“Prior to the storms, marsh rabbits were considered abundant and even ‘over-abundant’ by many, as they could be seen throughout the island in numbers with little effort,” said Lechowicz. “Many residents considered them a nuisance as they devoured gardens and decorative flowers around their house due to their abundance.”

Post-Ian, marsh rabbits became uncommon on the island.

A new rabbit species on Sanibel?

A recent discovery of an eastern cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) on the island marks an interesting addition to the island fauna.

“Cottontails are not as aquatic as the marsh rabbits and are a little larger in size. We only have one documented animal, so it will be interesting to find out if there are more,” he said.

 After looking through iNaturalist, SCCF found a record of an eastern cottontail in the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge in 2007.

“We were previously unaware of that record. So, now we think this species may have had a small established population for some time, but it wasn’t noticed due to the abundance of marsh rabbits across the island,” said Lechowicz.

Why did marsh rabbits surge in population?

Prior to Ian, residents often asked why marsh rabbits became so abundant over the last decade. A logical theory to this question has to do with the arrival of the coyote (Canis latrans) to the island in 2011.

Prior to the coyote’s arrival, the sole mammalian predators for marsh rabbits were bobcats (Lynx rufus), among the other species that preyed on them, such as raptors and eastern coachwhip snakes (Masticophis flagellum).

“Bobcats eat rats, rabbits, and other small prey. After the coyote arrived, more pressure was put on small mammal populations, and rabbits likely had to overproduce to keep their species sustainable as the carrying capacity of the island was reevaluated. This balance between predator and prey takes time to adjust,” Lechowicz explained.

The small aquatic marsh rabbit, with its short ears and hind feet and lack of a white tail, was the only rabbit species known on Sanibel, at least in writings and previous species lists.

There is even a chapter in George R. Campbell’s book, The Nature of Things on Sanibel (1978), named “Chapter 7: Sanibel’s Marsh Rabbit. Don’t Look for a Cottontail.”

“This book is an important record of the wildlife that occurred on the island in the 1970s and before,” he said.

Hurricane Ian mostly decimated the marsh rabbit populations throughout the island. It took several months to document just one rabbit, and new sightings were sparse until late 2023.

The wildlife team will be taking a closer look at the recovering rabbit populations to see if both species persist in the future.

If you see a rabbit on the island — especially a cottontail — please take a photo and report it using our Wildlife Sighting App.